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2. Living Within Our Means

Living Within Our Means

Living within our means is one of the most pressing issues of this modern area. More than anything else, it highlights the struggle single or family go through every month to meet their financial obligations. That is because either we are living at the edge of satisfaction or the wanna be live.

The first reflects our strong desire to play an active role in the lives of our loved ones. Thus we want to make them happy. So we try to satisfy all their needs by loading them with many stuff and craving to their demands. The second aspect comes from our desire to be socially accepted. Consequently, we put in a junk of our paycheck towards pretentious things. Further, we burn our hard-earned money in futile activities by carving to our impulses. Thus we max out all credit card options, cash out our 401k, and start pursuing interest-based relationships instead of genuine ones.

The second follows social pressure, what people think about us. More what we want people to think about us. We go to great lengths to project a false image in hope to be accepted by our environment. Hence, we engage ourselves in a cruise of showing off. Then fueled by greed we lie, hurt and destroy all in the name of social acceptance. To keep up, we lure potential prey, naive and ignorant to scam. When exposed we become aggressive, agitated and arrogant. Surprisingly it is always others fault, not ours. We don’t care to destroy lives in the process. It is all about external appearances even if internally we struggle to pay bills or simply to eat.

Unfortunately, the last only draws drama in the long run. Especially when people come to realize who you are. At the least they will just abandon you, worst case scenario they will bring charges against you. The short-term reward is not just worthy. The truth is most people don’t really care about your financial situation as long as you can take care of your bills. If you are genuine with people, chances are they will love you for who you are. They will bring the best out of you, protect you and elevate you both socially, morally and financially. It might take time but it would happen.

Fortunately, the first is just a matter of readjusting to your reality. You have to learn how to say no to your loved ones. Engage in meaningful conversations to help them understand your current struggle. Being honest will go a long way to avoid dramatic situations. Ultimately, you can change job, get a second job, change cities, be humble or simply pair up your expenses with your income. There is nothing wrong with asking for help and assistance; if nothing works out. Leverage the power of the community.

But also living within your means is a matter of mindset. You have to learn the value of money and find a way to be detached from materials things. In the past, people were definitely living within their means and they were happier than our generation. You have to be consistent with yourself with a constant reality check. Remember, where you are coming from and where you are heading. Setting long-term visions and goals, for example, retire early or building generational wealth. In this case, you will acknowledge every single penny and the blessing of building genuine and honest relationships with people. There are no rules that say you can’t build wealth because you live paycheck to paycheck.

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[…] or $50 tee-shirt you are putting that money towards his or her trust fund for college. Leave within your means, and be as frugal as you can. The goal is not to show off be to build generational wealth so stay […]